James P. Rubin, a former assistant secretary of state in the Clinton administration wrote a piece in Politico Thursday that called German Chancellor Angela Merkel the “leader of the free world,” largely for her role in taking in Middle Eastern ‘migrants.’ Rubin worked in Hillary’s failed 2008 campaign and was an advisor to Clinton.

“Angela Merkel, whether she wants the job or not, is the West’s last, best hope,” was the subtitle. Rubin claimed that by taking in some one million “refugees,” Merkel assumed the mantle of “moral leadership.”

The German chancellor is the only leader in Europe who even has a plausible claim to moral leadership. As a victim of Soviet communism, Merkel was always going to be listened to carefully on the question of morality. And given her longevity she was always going to be respected. But it was her unexpected decision to accept some 1 million refugees that established her moral credentials, especially since no other political leader has taken such a political risk.

more than anyone, is the woman who destroyed the notion of European cultural cohesion, the unity of its history, and its Western identity. Her folly in throwing open the borders of the European Union (which is itself a Franco-German political fantasy now coming unglued) to the “migrant” hordes of an invading Islamic world will reverberate for decades to come. In an effort to replace the German population — which, largely thanks to its women, is almost wholly uninterested in reproducing itself — the childless chancellor could only see a mechanical solution to a problem of reproductive biology, without ever once (in true East German fashion) asking herself why.

Iben Thranholm is one of Denmark’s most widely read columnists who focuses on political and social events focusing on their religious aspects, significance and moral implications. She was asked how Denmark views Sweden and Europe’s demographic future? She answered: “With absolute horror.”

The Swedish media, which is quite pro-government and its leftwing policies, does not always report the full extent of the problems in their society. So it is hard to have a very accurate picture of what is going on. But we in Denmark have a good sense. We are very aware of the murders, rapes, riots, violence and the hand grenades that go on there. This does not often make the news but we know it is going on. And we don’t want to go down the same route.

This is the result of decades of policies promoting multiculturalism in Sweden. And what is left is this hollow house. You know, in the Bible it is said that if a house is left swept, tidied and unoccupied it eventually it will be taken over by evil. And I fear that this is what is happening in Sweden. Far from being a multicultural paradise, the problems can no longer remain hidden.

Every few weeks or days, there is another report of an attack on the public in Europe. Yet nobody admits that there is a problem. Sweden, most of all, seems to be trying to cover up, hide, and neglect to mention things that clearly are going haywire, because if they acknowledged it, they would have to do something about it.

That may be the characteristic that is behind the populism, nationalism and revolt against governments that is moving through all the Western societies. Governments have tried to cover up their own failings, shove things aside till later, fail to address matters directly and eventually it reaches a boiling point.

Yet, yet—Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced he will step down after his anti-Trump vow to hire 10,000 Muslim Refugees because of Trump’s supposed “Muslim ban” backfired substantially. Consumer perceptions of the company dropped by two thirds. Aside from politics, there’s a significant portion of young people who can’t find jobs. But how interesting that the idea that Muslims from 7 countries cannot be vetted to be sure they are not members of ISIS or alQaeda never occurred to him. They are refugeeees and we have to help them so we will be perceived as good people. That was the Swedish mindset.

Over and over, you will find Leftists changing the dialogue from a straightforward analysis of the issues to one which will allow them to feel like good people, doing good and kind things. Sanctuary cities, jobs for refugees, open borders, welcoming illegal aliens — Howard Schultz is a billionaire and his ‘kindnesses’ will not affect him personally.

We are all aware of the problem of illegal immigration at our own Southern border, and of the various euphemisms used to disguise the term “illegal alien” which is not a slander, but accurate terminology as defined by the dictionary, in this case — Merriam Webster:

illegal, il•le•gal, adjective: not allowed by law.
—not according to or authorized by law.

alien, noun: a person who was born in a different country and is not a citizen of the county in which he now lives. A foreign born resident who has not been naturalized and is still a subject or citizen of a foreign country.

Europe is suffering from our same problems, but a lot more so. Angela Merkel has finally admitted that Germany and the EU have bungled the refugee crisis. German intelligence has acknowledged that ISIS “sleeper cells” have infiltrated the country disguised as refugees. But that’s only the beginning.

The American Interest notes that “As Migrant Deal Falters,Strains on EU’s Underbelly Grow.” On average, the number of people landing on Greek islands has risen to about 100 a day in August, up from fewer than 50 a day in May and June. About 460 people landed on Greek islands on Monday, a number Greece hasn’t experienced since early April.

The traffic is still far below daily peaks of 6,800 in October last year. But the rising numbers are making Greek and EU officials worried that the fragile deal with Turkey—aimed at returning almost all who land on Greek shores—could break down. Mr. Erdogan is not currently in a getting along with the West mood.

German asylum seekers refuse to work insisting “we are Merkel’s GUESTS.” While asylum seekers are not allowed to work under immigration rules within the EU, they are allowed to do voluntary work.

However officials in the district of Zwickau came up with a plan to help encourage those without employment to get back to work and to help them become more accepted within the local community.

Girls are disappearing from school as Germany has logged over 1,000 child marriages to older men, and there may be many more unreported marriages. Some as young as 11. And that ‘s just some of the reported problems.

An excellent article from Ted R. Bromund at the Hoover Institution: “How Should Europe Respond to Islamism?” He points out that the standard of border control is effectively that of its least capable member i.e. Greece.

If Islamism’s first challenge to Europe is to its uncontrolled borders, the second, and far more serious, is to its society and culture once those borders have been crossed. Over the coming years, we can expect to see all manner of pleas for a unified European approach to combating Islamism. What we will not see is any serious effort to deprive Islamism of a measure of its ideological legitimacy by defeating it on the ground in the Middle East.

Barack Obama’s hard left ideology has kept him from dealing effectively with the problems facing the United States and with Europe. Obama is striving for a borderless world. He expects the flood of immigrants to become future Democrat voters, grateful for free education and welfare. The problems in the Middle East were caused by Bush’s invasion of Iraq, and if he just turns the entire Middle East over to Iran, it will all settle down. And he seems to continue to believe that ISIS is just some kind of J.V. team. The West cannot seem to agree on the aims of the jihadists, or Iran, or ISIS —nor what to do about it. See the post below.

European countries are getting an up-front and real lesson in the aims and customs of their Muslim migrants, but they haven’t quite put aside the hopes of peacefully assimilating them, nor of facing up to the immense problems involved. Assimilating single families or small groups was one thing, but the mass of millions of young Muslim men, with ISIS fighters as “sleeper cells” disguised among them is something quite different entirely.

It is all a huge problem, and we are called upon to pay attention and try to think clearly. Obama is intent upon importing as vast numbers of “Syrian refugees” as he can get away with, as future Democrat voters — so we may soon be facing the same problems as Europe.

Obama has been asked to consider specifying Christian refugees who, can expect to be killed brutally if they are captured by ISIS. Refugees fleeing religious persecution are supposed to get special consideration under our laws about refugees, but Obama is not interested.

But they are refugees — we owe them empathy and compassion, we have to help them, don’t we? German Chancellor Angela Merkel saw the desperate bombed out cities and towns in Syria on television, and invited the refugees to come to Germany, because they needed more workers, and owed them compassion. The politicos seem to line up with Chancellor Merkel, but the people are not so sure.

During the New Years celebration in Cologne, Germany at least a thousand North African refugees groped women, there were allegations of two rapes, and the mayor of the city requested that women monitor their “code of conduct.” (Look what she was wearing, she was asking for it) The authorities are dedicated to tolerance, which trumps both survival and personal safety.

In Russia, 51 Muslim refugees expelled from Norway go to a nightclub in Murmansk, grope and molest women, and wake up in the hospital. Russians don’t have all that much tolerance when it comes to sexual assault on local women, in the manner that women were attacked in Cologne. A group of Russian men took them aside to teach them a lesson. and gave them a beating they would remember. Police arrived to break up the fight, but threw a few punches at the refugees before arresting 33 of them. Eighteen were in such bloody condition they had to be taken to the hospital.

The police decided not to file a report, but they did confirm that there was a “mass brawl involving refugees.”

There were various reports about from where the Muslim Refugees were expelled. some said Cologne, others said they were expelled from Norway for “bad behavior.” What seems to be fairly universal is the tolerance expressed and enforced in Western Europe. Herbert London described the situation:

Much of the chaos Germany now endures was predictable. After all, many Muslim men treat woman as inferior, mere objects for their sexual delectation. The Koran endorses the proposition that a woman has half the rights of a man in any legal proceeding. Nonetheless, the compassion crusade goes on.

Common sense would suggest that those who cannot assimilate should never be allowed in and those whose behavior violates German law should be thrown out. But that isn’t the conversation in political councils; it is the conversation on the street. The authorities generally stand with Merkel.

We are suffering from the same tolerance delusion here. The president recoils from calling anyone a “terrorist” — they are “extremists,” but then so is anyone in this country who has a concealed carry permit or holds up a Gadsden flag, or resides in one of those odd states like Texas or Oklahoma or Idaho. It’s all very strange, and requires careful use of language.

In Erbil, Iraq, “some 2.000 Yazidi women who were captured in the brutal August 2014 attack on their mountain stronghold — have escaped and taken up arms against their former tormentors.They witnessed the slaughter of their families on Mount Sinjar and then were forced into sexual slavery.” They call themselves the ‘Force of the Sun Ladies’ and are ready to fight for vengeance. They have been trained and are ready to fight alongside the Kurdish Peshmerga forces. They range in age from 17 to 37 and there are 500 more waiting to be trained.

The European Project is falling apart. The dream of ending forever the wars that have torn Europe apart through the centuries was to end with unification. Full political and economic integration, beginning with a common market, then a single market, but the most important step was locking member states into a single currency.

The gentlemen at Power Line notice a surprising fact in the pages of the New York Times. One that explains a lot.

In Sweden and Switzerland, 7 of 10 people work past 50. In France, only half do.

The museums are among the best in the world, the streets and parks spotless, the infrastructure superb, and the people as hard at work as ever. To walk an urban street in Germany is a different experience from say in Athens or Istanbul — traffic follows law, pedestrians are respected, horns are used rarely, trash is absent. In other words, things work and work well. …

For someone who has lived in Greece and occasionally visits Germany, it becomes increasingly clearer each year why the European Union won’t work. Germans work and create wealth. Yet under the present system, they do not receive commensurate psychological rewards — and they increasingly receive insufficient material compensation as well. …

Victor Davis Hanson reminds us of some of the history that brought us to this point. Chancellor Merkel and Germany are going to offer the rest of Europe some tough love in an effort to save the Euro, but there is no plan B. Dr. Hanson manages to gather together the many strands of this mess into a comprehensive picture of a very difficult situation.

Very soon German workers are going to grasp that all the financial reserves they piled away the last two decades from not doing what a Spain or Italy did are essentially gone. Someone in Munich worked 40 hours a week until age 67 for someone in Athens not to — and for someone in Athens to demand that someone in Munich do so or else. The idea that nations like Greece, both overtly and implicitly, insult nations like Germany has no basis in historical terms. …

In a sane world, a financially solvent United States would now step up to the plate, reassure Germany of both its long-standing financial and military support, and seek through its friendship and alliance to deflect any natural German inclination to translate its economic power and present seething into something other than mere anger at the EU.

But we don’t live in a sane world. U.S. finances are following the Greek example. President Obama either does not understand the West or perhaps does not care to. To the new America, a Germany is no different from a Pakistan or Venezuela, just another member of the international community, no better or no worse than any other. Our commitment to NATO and the U.S. defense budget will soon be redefined, as even more entitlements along the lines of the recent trillion-dollar health care plan are envisioned.

In other words, in such a vacuum, very soon, if we are not careful, we are going to have a German problem — again.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. She said:

[F]or me America seemed completely out of reach . . . then on the 9th of November 1989, the Berlin Wall fell.

And this border which had divided a nation, for decades, keeping people in two different worlds, was now open. And this is why for me, today is first and foremost a time to say thank you.

I thank all those American and Allied pilots who heard and heeded the desperate appeal of then-Mayor of Berlin Ernst Reuter, in 1948, who said, you, the nations of this world, cast your eyes towards the city.

For months, these pilots flew food to Berlin for the airlift, saving the citizens from starvation. Many of these soldiers risked their lives. Dozens lost their lives. We shall remember and honor them forever…

I think of John F. Kennedy, who won the hearts of the Berliners, when, during his visit in 1961, after the wall had been built, he reached out to the desperate citizens of Berlin by saying, “Ich bin ein Berliner.” I think of Ronald Reagan, who, far earlier than most, clearly saw the sign of the times and, standing in front of the Brandenburg Gate, already in 1987, called out, “Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” This appeal shall remain forever in my heart.

The 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall is a very important occasion. Americans, in 1989, didn’t seem to really grasp that shift in the condition of the world, or perhaps the leftists among us didn’t consider it an event to be celebrated. There have been books written about the lack of appreciation for the enormity of the collapse of Communism and the end of the Cold War.

But then Liberals prefer to attribute the whole thing to Gorbachev and Perestroika. Ronald Reagan, who? Pope John Paul? Margaret Thatcher? George Meany? Why do they always try to rewrite history? And once rewritten, it becomes gospel. Obama has made a major mistake in not attending, but so far he is not doing well with the foreign policy thing. No character, no class.